200m win caps a golden night for Felix

200m win caps a golden night for Felix

Allyson Felix finally won an individual Olympic gold medal, gliding home with her seemingly effortless stride to take the 200-meters title and break Veronica Campbell-Brown's stranglehold on the event.

Aries Merritt added to the perfect sprint night for the United States, dominating the 110-meter hurdles final ahead of compatriot Jason Richardson. Behind them, Cuba's Dayron Robles, the 2008 champion, was smashing a hurdle in frustration after he pulled up lame with a right hamstring injury halfway through the race. In the heats, China's Liu Xiang, the 2004 champion, also pulled out injured.

And making for a golden half-hour for the United States, Brittney Reese added the long jump title soon afterward to complete a triple for the Americans.

All of a sudden, the United States shot to the top of the gold medal standings in track and field with five titles, two more than Russia and Britain.

Image: United States' Allyson Felix crosses the finish line to win the women's 200-meters final on WednesdayPhotographs: AP Photo/Lee Jin-man

'She's had a very good season and definitely deserves this moment'

Campbell-Brown faded out of contention down the stretch and finished fourth, failing -- just like pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva did the night before -- to become the first woman in track and field to win gold medals in the same individual event at three consecutive Olympics.

"I'm happy for her. I know that she wanted it," Campbell-Brown said of Felix.

Sanya Richards-Ross, who was seeking a 200-400 double, fell back into fifth place but was happy that Felix finally got the Olympic gold medal after two silvers.

"She's had a very good season and definitely deserves this moment," Richards-Ross said.

"She's just like me, she's wanted this for a very long time."

It was a thrilling US victory in the Jamaica-US sprint rivalry. By the looks of it, though, Jamaica should prevail again in the men's 200 on Thursday.

Image: Allyson Felix of the United States celebrates after winning gold in the women's 200m final on WednesdayPhotographs: Stu Forster/Getty Images